LOCAL BUSINESS
Business planning seminar
A free seminar on how to write a business plan is planned for 3 to 5:30 p.m. March 28 at the Akron Global Business Accelerator.
Advance registration is required.
The accelerator is on the ninth floor at 526 S. Main St. in Akron. The seminar will be in Conference Room 904.
Mary Ann Jasionowski, director of the Small Business Development Center, and Mark Hansel, representative for the Cleveland office of the Small Business Administration’s department of economic development/lender relations, will present the program.
To register or for more information, call 330-375-2111 or email info@akronsbdc.org.
Employee ownership forum
Corey Rosen, co-founder of the National Center for Employee Ownership, and J. Michael Keeling, president of the ESOP Association, will be keynote speakers for the Ohio Employee Ownership Conference April 19 at the Akron-Fairlawn Hilton, 3180 W. Market St., Fairlawn.
The event is organized by the Ohio Employee Ownership Center, a nonprofit outreach center at Kent State University.
The 27th annual program includes such topics as the fundamentals of ownership for employee owners, building an ownership culture, technical issues, employee stock ownership plans and cooperatives, community development strategies and the union cooperative model.
Cost is $125 per person before April 6; $150 per person till April 18 and $195 at the door. Group rates are available.
For more information, call 330-672-3028 or email oeoc@kent.edu.
Omnova amends loan terms
Fairlawn polymer company Omnova Solutions Inc. successfully completed an amendment to a $200 million loan credit facility that will save it about $2.4 million annually in interest rate expenses, the company said Monday.
Changes include extending by one year the facility maturity to May 2018 and a reduction in borrowing spreads of 1.25 percent.
The new floating interest rate is 4.25 percent.
As a result of the changes, Omnova said it will record a charge of approximately $1.5 million in the 2013 second quarter.
TECHNOLOGY
New BlackBerry set to debut
BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion will launch its new touchscreen smartphone in the U.S. with AT&T on March 22. The release will come several weeks after RIM launched the much-delayed devices elsewhere.
AT&T said Monday the Z10 will be available for $199.99 with a two-year contract. Sales of the device began in the U.K. and Canada shortly after RIM unveiled the phone in late January.
RIM has said U.S. carriers needed more time to test the devices.
The redesigned BlackBerry is RIM’s attempt at a comeback after the pioneering brand lost its cachet not long after Apple’s 2007 release of the iPhone, which reset expectations for what a smartphone should do.
CONSUMERS
Animal-tested goods banned
The European Union banned the sale of new cosmetic products containing ingredients tested on animals with immediate effect Monday.
“This is a great opportunity for Europe to set an example of responsible innovation in cosmetics without any compromise on consumer safety,” said Tonio Borg, the EU’s top official on health and consumer issues.
Animal rights groups were quick to cheer the measure, but Cosmetics Europe, a trade body representing the EU’s $93 billion industry, said the ban “acts as a brake on innovation.”
While the industry’s rabbits, mice or guinea pigs used in testing will now be spared, consumers are unlikely to notice immediate changes because products containing ingredients that were tested on animals before the ban can remain on the shelves.
PHILANTHROPY
Clinton funds to aid Haiti
A charity for former U.S. President Bill Clinton on Monday awarded more than $700,000 to develop the country’s agriculture sector.
The Clinton Foundation announced that the grants will go toward efforts to plant trees, build a coffee farm and train farmers.
Clinton has been the United Nations’ special envoy to Haiti since shortly after the devastating 2009 earthquake. He left Haiti following a two-day visit accompanied by potential investors representing a perfume company, restaurants and a lingerie company.
One of the delegation’s visits Monday was to a brewery Heineken NV purchased last year. The company announced Monday it would invest $40 million to expand the brewery and help farmers who supply it with sorghum.
Compiled from staff and wire reports.